Government contracts

In accordance with Section 27 of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA), Council is required to maintain a register that records information about each government contract which has (or is likely to have) a value of $150,000 or more.

This requirement however, does not apply to contracts entered into by Councils before commencement of the GIPA Act on 1 July 2010. Alternatively, Council may make some of this prior information proactively available within the contracts register.

You can request information on any contract entered into prior to this date by contacting the Right to Information Officer.

Under Section 35 (2)(b) of the Act, Councils are not required to publish their contracts register on the e-tenders website, making this page the centralised location for all current contracts entered into by Council since 1 July 2010.

Contracts that must be included in the government contracts register are those:

between an agency and a private sector contractor

for a value of $150,000 or more, and involve:

the contractor undertaking a specific project such as construction, infrastructure or property development

the contractor agreeing to provide specific goods or services

the transfer or lease of real property.

Employment contracts do not need to be included in the register.

Different classes of contracts

The Act provides for three different classes of contracts, each with different information disclosure requirements.

Class 1 contracts are those that have, or are likely to have, a value of $150,000

Class 2 contracts are class 1 contracts where:

there has not been a public tender process and the terms and conditions of the contract have been negotiated directly with the contractor, or

the contract was the subject of a tender (whether public or not) but the terms and conditions have been substantially negotiated with the contractor

the obligations of one or more parties to maintain or operate infrastructure or assets

could continue for 10 years or more, and the contract involves a privately financed project (as defined by Treasury) or the exchange of significant assets.

If a class 2 contract has a value, or likely value of more than $5 million, it becomes a class 3 contract. Agencies must publish a copy of a class 3 contract on the register of government contracts.